Cuttack, Aug. 18: Ravenshaw University's attempt to adopt an alternative model of students' representation is heading to court with Ravenshaw Bikash Abhijan announcing it would move court after notification of the election date.

The Ravenshaw Bikash Abhijan (RBA), which is made of socio-political activists and former student leaders, has been protesting against the university's bid to replace a single apex body such as the students' union with student councils for each of the nine schools consisting of 34 departments.

The university's staff council has decided to make its maiden attempt to hold an indirect election of students' representation a two-day affair - August 22 and 23 - but issue the notification for it on August 21.

"We are prepared to seek judicial intervention, but we will have to wait till there is cause of action - notification for election in this case - to move the high court for implementation of the Supreme Court direction on students' union elections," RBA president Chittaranjan Mohanty said today.

"We have no option but to go to court as the state government has not intervened against the move which gives a go by to the Supreme Court direction on students' union elections," said Mohanty, who was president of Ravenshaw College students' union in 1971.

Vice-chancellor Prakash Chandra Sarangi had yesterday announced that August 22 had been fixed for each of the students of undergraduate (first, second and third years) and postgraduate (first and second year) courses of the different departments vote their representatives (one for each specific class) directly through secret ballot at the department level.

Sarangi said August 23 had been fixed for the representatives who will constitute the students council of the respective schools to elect through secret ballot a convenor and deputy convenor from among them.

The RBA's bid to start a legal battle hinges on its contention that the alternative model gives a go by to the September 22, 2006, Supreme Court order which had directed that recommendations of the Lygdoh Committee should be followed scrupulously by all the universities across the country.

"The Supreme Court direction had endorsed the recommendations of the Lygdoh Committee for a system of direct election of the office bearers of the student body under which all students of university departments vote directly for office bearers," the RBA president said.

The vice chancellor has claimed that "the aim of adopting the alternative model of student's representation is to follow Lyngdoh Committee's recommendation in letter and spirit".

"Introduction of the students council model of participation will only strengthen the democratic process by expanding the scope of participation," vice-chancellor Prakash Chandra Sarangi had claimed.